


After SHIELD

by SonglordsBug



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Darcy Lewis is Phil Coulson's sister, Darcyland (Marvel), HYDRA gets bored and de-ages Darcy, Jasper Sitwell is HYDRA, M/M, SHIELD Agent Darcy Lewis, but he's also conflicted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 8,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16895865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonglordsBug/pseuds/SonglordsBug
Summary: When SHIELDRA implodes Darcy gets Jane and Erik somewhere safe and leads HYDRA on a merry chase. When they finally catch her they are disgusted to realize they got the assisstant but hope to get something useful out of her anyway. When that fails, they let their scientists experiment on her with their de-aging ray. Cue rescues, shenanigans, and utter adorableness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Darcy of SHIELD](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16883028) by [SonglordsBug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonglordsBug/pseuds/SonglordsBug). 



> Crossposting from stumblr.

When Hydra tried to take over the world and Shield died, Darcy was with Jane. Of course she was with Jane, she would comment, that’s what being upgraded from intern to assistant meant, she was always with Jane. They were in England with Erik, still looking into the anomalies that had resulted in the world almost being destroyed by aliens, again.

Hydra had higher priorities, so for the first two days they were left alone, which gave Darcy time to plan. On the third day, she noticed several watchers. She managed to send Jane and Erik off somewhere safe and then led the Hydra agents on wild goose hunt. When they finally caught Darcy they were displeased to realize that they only had the assistant and had let both scientist slip through their fingers.

They took her anyway, figuring that since she had been assisting for several years, she might know more than her bubblebrained, mouthy appearance suggested. Darcy played said appearance up, aware that it was the only identity they knew about. Once they got to base they threw her in an unobserved cell and left her alone.

When they finally brought her out she did her best to play scared even as she scanned her surroundings for information. She almost fell out of character when her eyes landed on a bruised but free Jasper Sitwell, who was staring at her in dismay.

She dropped her eyes, her mind racing in disbelief. The only way anyone would be free on this base was if they were Hydra. Jasper was free. Ergo, Jasper was Hydra. They man who taught her Spanish and helped her learn to read by reading princess books with her was Hydra.

While she struggled to process the concept Sitwell inserted himself into the conversation about her. He managed to both imply that she knew absolutely nothing while suggesting that she might still be useful. The other Hydra agents, more concerned with the remnants of Shield and the Avengers, decided that he could be the one to keep an eye on her.

He took her back to her cell, at which point she turned asked “Hydra? Really?”

His face blank he answered “You don’t understand. We’re changing the world for the better.”

“You’re Nazis.” She said flatly.

“We are not!” He snapped. “You don’t understand, we’re not the bad guys.”

“Really.” She said flatly. “If that’s the case then why haven’t you told them who I really am?”


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper, no, Sitwell, sputtered for a moment before snapping “Look, just keep your head down. Don’t draw attention to yourself or you’ll get yourself killed.”

Darcy snorted and asked “What do you think I’m doing?”

Sitwell scowled at her and left.

Several hours later he returned and took her to a lab where several scientists asked her questions. She refused to answer them. When they got frustrated with her snappy, snarky comments, one of the scientists slapped her and told Sitwell to take her back to her cell.

After shoving her in he demanded “What part of keep you head down did you fail to understand? If you don’t answer their questions they’ll kill you.”

She looked back at him, her chin raised defiantly and replied “I’m not telling them anything. Besides the fact that Jane is my friend, and I wouldn’t tell them anything because of that, they’re, you’re Hydra and I’m not giving you any information about anything that might help you hurt people.”

They remained locked in eye  contact for several tense minutes before Sitwell’s shoulders slumped and he turned an left.

Darcy’s life settled into a routine after that. Sitwell brought her two meals a day, and everytime they had some variation of the same conversation. He told her to cooperate for her own good and she told him she wouldn’t help bad guys. She was taken to the lab once a day and questioned, and the scientists got increasingly frustrated. The only reason they hadn’t seriously injured her was that Sitwell kept intervening, but it was getting harder and harder for him to do so.

Finally one day the scientists needed a test subject and decided that since they weren’t getting anything from Darcy, they might as well use her. When Sitwell started to object and remind them that she would make a good threat to hold over Foster’s head if they ever caught her, all they said was that it wouldn’t kill her.

He was left unable to do anything but watch uneasily while they hooked her up to several different machines. She didn’t resist, but she struggled to control her growing panic. As they hooked an iv of a strange liquid into her arm and turned on several machines her eyes turned to Sitwell who helplessly looked back until her eyes rolled back. Once the procedure started the scientists sent him away, saying that he wouldn’t be needed until it finished and she awoke.

They called him back when the time came and told him to keep her calm. He stepped into the room, which was emptied of everyone else, and looked over at where she had been. In her place was a familiar little girl who was looking around in disoriented terror. When her eyes landed on him they widened and she asked with a  quavering voice

“Jasper?”


	3. Chapter 3

His eyes flicked over to the camera he knew was observing the room, but her face had been pointed away from it. He then focused his attention on the little girl and said carefully, in full view of the camera,

“Hi little girl. My name’s Jasper. Do you know where you are?”

She stares at him silently for a moment, and he waits, hoping she caught the combination of little girl and location question, hoping she remembers what it means.

“I… I don’t know where I am. I think I’m s'posed to be at school.” She finally manages to answer.

He keeps his shoulders from sagging in relief at the reference to school and says “Well, Ms. Lewis, you were brought to our facility to keep you safe.”

He watches her frown when he calls her Ms. Lewis but her only response is a quavering “C'n I see my parents?”

“When it is possible, we’ll contact them and you can talk to them but not yet.” He tells her and sees her lip tremble and her eyes start to fill. He leans in closer and says “It’s alright, you’re safe, Darcy, can I call you Darcy?” She nods shakily. He continues “Now I’m going to take you to your room, okay Darcy?”

She nods again and slides off the table. The shirt she’d been wearing is the only item of clothing still on her and it now swamps her. He holds out his hand to her and leads her out of the room. He gets raised eyebrows and amused smirks from the other Hydra agents, but he ignores them and leads her to her cell.

Once there he turns to the little girl and says “Okay Pajarita, we’re good, they’re not observing anymore.”

She doesn’t let go of his hand, instead clinging tighter, and says with wide, panicked brown eyes “Jasper! Jasper I saw! There was octopuses with skulls! That’s Hydra, Jasper! Does Hydra have us?”

He looks into her trusting eyes and says “Yes, this is Hydra, Pajarita.”

She shudders and her hand tightens even more as she asks quietly “Where’s Phil?”

“Not here” He answers immediately, “And… I can’t get to him right now, chica. They don’t know who you are, not really, they think you’re Darcy Lewis from the midwest and you live with your parents and your older brother’s in the marines. Can you stick to that for me Pajarita?”

She nods, looks around her cell and then turns to him with growing horror in her eyes “Jasper? Are you Hydra?”

He meets her eyes, sees the trust and the fear and the hope in them, takes a deep breath and says “Yes.”


	4. Chapter 4

Uponhearing his answer, Darcy dropped his hand and recoiled staring at him, distraught.

“But… why?” She gasped out.

“Because…” Jasper starts and then stops. He looks at her for a long moment and then shakes his head and says “It doesn’t matter.”

She looks at him dubiously, but doesn’t reply.

He shakes his head again and says “Can you keep your cover straight for me Pajarita?”

Darcy nods and answers “’M from the mi'west an’ my parents’re alive an’ Phil’s in the marines. Is he still Phil?”

Jasper shakes his head no and says “James, your brother’s name is James.”

She nods and looks around uncomfortably.

“One more thing Pajarita.” He says and she looks back to him. It’s 2014, you should be in your twenties. The scientists did something.“

She blinked at him mutely, her mouth pulling down in stunned surprise.

"I have to go now. I’ll be back later with food.”

He hesitated a moment and then reached forward and smoothed his hand over her head before turning and leaving.

Hydra mostly left her alone after that except for several examinations by the scientists. Jasper stole away to check on her as often as he could, and it didn’t take long before her disappointment in him was overshadowed by her desperate need for the comfort of someone familiar. He spent most of his time gathering everything he could find on the project that had led to the experiment on her.

Then one day Darcy heard louder and more violent sounds than usual. Jasper appeared suddenly, out of breath and tense. He hissed “Quietly” at her and grabbed her hand and led her out of her cell. He took her through the facility to a mouldering storage area. He then let go of her hand and grabbed her shoulders instead.

“I need you to hide. Wait till I’m gone and then hide. Don’t come out until I or someone you know comes and gives the gamma signal. Do you understand me?”

She nodded, wide-eyed, and repeated “Gamma signal.”

He nodded and said “Alright, good girl. I’ll come back as soon as I can Pajarita.” Then left, making sure to not look back and see where she was hiding herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to the line “In which Cimorene refuses to be proper and has a conversation with a frog.” goes to Patricia C. Wrede. It’s the first chapter title of her book Dealing With Dragons.

While the rest of the Hydra agents were fighting the attackers, Jasper did his best to stay out of sight. He slipped into the lab and started downloading everything he had found about the rejuvenation project onto a thumbdrive.

That was where Captain America and Black Widow found him. He was fairly certain the only reason he had time to start talking was their surprise at seeing him alive, but he took advantage of the time to put his hands up and say

“You have no reason to trust me. I’m not even asking you to, but I’m not going to struggle.”

This earns him a dubious frown from Captain America and a blank face from Widow. Jasper shifts slowly so that he can hold out the thumbdrive and says

“Here, you’ll need this.”

There is a pause and then Cap says “Cuff him.”

Widow steps forward, takes the drive, and cuffs the hands Jasper held out in front of himself. They started to lead him out of the facility and he blurted

“Wait! Please! We have to pick something up first!”

Cap gave him a disbelieving look but Jasper turned towards Widow and said

“I swear it’s not a trap. It’s… it’s about Junior.”

Widow went completely motionless for a long moment, staring at him intently, before saying “Lead the way.”

Cap threw a startled glance at Widow but she just shook her head and followed Sitwell. He lead them back to the storage area and with a nervous glance at Widow called out

“In which Cimorene refuses to be proper and has a conversation with a frog.”

Darcy had watched silently as Jasper came back, accompanied by a red-headed woman and man in what she recognized with horror as the Captain America costume. But then Jasper called out the gamma signal, which meant that she really was supposed to come out.

So she slipped down from the perch she’d found and ran forward to cling to Jasper’s leg. The two strangers stared down at her and the man in the costume said

“This is…”

“Junior.” Said the red-head, giving Jasper a dangerous look.


	6. Chapter 6

After a long moment, Not-Captain-America-She-Hoped and the red-headed lady lead them out of the facility. Darcy held tight to Jasper’s hand as they followed obediently. They ended up getting on to a jet of some sort, where they met a talking robot who said upon noticing her

“Holy shit! That’s a kid! Why is there a kid? Oh my god Hydra has a kid! It’s a Mini-Hydra!”

Darcy scowled, and refused to shrink closer to Jasper. She wasn’t Hydra and she wasn’t going to act like she was! …even if the only person she knew right now was Hydra.

The red-headed lady snapped a sharp “Shut up, Stark!”

Then she went towards the cop pit where a black man was standing and said “We’ve got everything we need, Falcon. Get us out of here.”

The man, Falcon?, nodded soberly, looked thoughtfully at the others and then ducked into the cop pit and started the plane.

Darcy carefully climbed into a seat and tried to do up the flight harness. She struggled with the complicated, too big straps, and Not-Captain-America stepped closer and reached towards her. Unable to help herself, she flinched away. He froze, stepped back, and crouched down. Meanwhile Jasper sat next to her and reached over to adjust the straps before giving them up as a lost cause.

Not-Captain-America watched them carefully and then looked Darcy in the eye, smiled, and said “Hi, I’m Steve, do you have a name?”

Darcy glared at him mistrustfully and kept her mouth clamped shut.

The robot said “Why would Hydra bother with a name? She probably has some sort of creepy codename instead. Is that right Mini-Hydra?”

Darcy transferred her glare to the robot.

The red-headed lady said “Leave Junior alone. She has no reason to trust you.”

After that the trip was silent.

The plane touched down somewhere and Not-Captain-America got up and said “All right, let’s pick up the others quickly and get back to base.”

There were nods from his companions and the back of the jet opened. Darcy could see several people walking towards the jet: a large man with long blond hair wearing what looked like armor and carrying a hammer, a small rumpled looking man with gray streaked curls and torn clothes, and behind them-

Darcy froze, uncertain whether to believe her eyes.

The other people were talking but the red-headed lady’s voice cut acrossed their voices as she said “Clint.”

The man in question’s eyes turned to the lady, a question in his eyes. She jerked her chin towards Darcy and his eyes followed and then widened in recognition. At that point Darcy slid from her seat and ran towards him.

Clint, because it was definitely Clint dropped to one knee and opened his arms in time for her to throw herself into them. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he gathered her close, and she shuddered with relief as she gasped

“Clint!”


	7. Chapter 7

They stay wrapped up in a hug for an endless moment while Darcy shudders and Clint makes WTF faces at Natasha. Finally Darcy released her death grip around his neck enough to lean back and meet his eyes. Clint looked at her solemnly and waited.

After a moment she asked quietly “Clint? Are you Hydra?”

He looked her firmly in the eyes, his face serious and without any of the laughter that typically characterized him, and said “No.”

Darcy nodded and then bit her lip and asked “Promise?”

And now he smiled, slowly and warmly, and said “I promise.”

Her eyes closed and her whole body slumped in relief and then she opened her eyes and said with a pinched look on her face “Jasper is. I asked him and he told me.”

Clint nodded and pulled a face as his eyes flicked briefly to where Sitwell was seated quietly before returning his gaze to Darcy. She had a hesitant look on her face that prompted him to continue waiting quietly until she asked

“Is anyone else here Hydra?”

He smiled again and said “Nah, Colibri. The only person here who’s Hydra is Sitwell. The rest of us know better than to be squid nazis.”

She nodded and then side-eyed towards the man in the Captain America outfit with a question in her eyes. Clint grinned and raised an eyebrow challengingly, clearly telling her that if she wanted answers she needed to actually ask questions.

She considered asking but then her face crumpled and she said plaintively “I want to go home. I want my brother.”

Clint’s face softened immediately and he said “All right then. We need to get back on the plane Little Bird. He’s at our next stop.”

Then he stood up, took her hand, and led her towards the seats. He waited for Darcy to get settled and then crouched down and managed to actually arrange the adult sized harness in a way that could keep her in her seat. He settled into the seat next to her as the rest of the adults entered the plane with several whispered conversations attempting to explain the little girl they’d found at the other Hydra base who they were apparently keeping.


	8. Chapter 8

The flight back to base was uneventful. Darcy sat next to Clint and quietly observed the other people on the jet.

Jasper was sitting uncomfortably still. He was keeping his face mostly blank, but there was a pinched edge to his features that told Darcy he wasn’t comfortable, whether it was with his situation or himself, she couldn’t tell.

The red-headed lady had positioned herself carefully to keep an eye on Jasper. Her grace and stillness reminded Darcy of the way Clint moved and held himself and she wondered if the red-headed lady was an assassin like him. The lady was also keeping a subtle eye on Darcy, but since so far she had been helpful and let Darcy alone, Darcy was doing her best to ignore it.

The man in the Captain America costume looked and sounded a surprising amount like the pictures and recordings she had seen of Captain America. Enough so that she was actually wondering whether he could possibly be… but she doubted it. He did seem kind though, he had tried to help her and he was checking in with the tired rumpled man.

The tired rumpled man himself seemed the most harmless of the people on the jet as he carefully changed into new clothes. He carried himself like all of the scientists she had ever met, but that didn’t explain why his clothes had been torn or why he’d been in what appeared to be a combat situation with Clint.

The other man who had accompanied Clint was large. Darcy was very puzzled by the actual metal armor and the cape the man was wearing. The fact that his chosen weapon appeared to be a huge hammer was less disconcerting since Clint preferred a bow over guns. The large man had seated himself comfortably and while he remained alert, he also appeared relaxed. He directed several smiles towards her, and she wondered whether he was attempting to reassure her.

She couldn’t tell much about the pilot, who was after all in the cock pit, but he was handling the jet smoothly.

That left the talking robot. She didn’t like it very much. It was loud and obnoxious and she couldn’t read its face and it kept calling her Mini-Hydra. She wasn’t Hydra and if it called her that again she was going to ask Clint to shoot it.

She continued to observe them until the jet touched down at what they were calling base. They all got up and started gathering their equipment and stretching. Clint crouched down in front of Darcy and helped open her harness. Then he offered her his hand and lead her down the ramp with the others.


	9. Chapter 9

At the bottom of the ramp Darcy hesitated. Clint turned and looked at her questioningly. She shifted uncomfortably and said quietly

“I hafta go to the bathroom.”

Clint smiled at her and said “Well, then it’s good that one of those is nearby.”

Then he turned to the others and said “You guys can handle Sitwell while we head to a restroom, right?”

The robot waved a hand dismissively and said “Yeah, yeah, go keep Mini-Hydra from making a mess, I’m sure we can keep track of one measly Hydra agent without you Legolas.”

Darcy scowled at the robot but Clint just chuckled and tugged on her hand, saying “C'mon Colibri, this way.”

Darcy followed quietly while noticing that the others were leading Jasper in the other direction.

Clint lead her to a restroom and asked “You can handle it on your own? I can go in with you if you need, but if any other ladies come along I might get in trouble.”

He smiled impishly as he teased her and she scowled at him and said “I can do it. ’M not a baby.”

His smile gentled into something fonder and more amused as he answered “All right then Little Bird. You do your thing, I’ll be here waiting.”

Darcy slipped into the bathroom and did her business. A few minutes later she came back out to find a tall, intimidating woman talking to Clint, who was leaning against the opposite wall. Darcy slipped over to him and grabbed at his leg. She darted a cautious look up at the woman and then did a double take at the woman who was staring down at her in obvious surprise and asked

“Melinda?”

The woman stared at her for a long moment before replying “Little Bird.”

Darcy looked at her uncertainly, darting a glance at Clint. How could Melinda look so serious and scary she wondered. Melinda was fun and laughed a lot. Clint’s hand came to rest reassuringly on Darcy’s shoulder and scary-Melinda unbent enough to smile gently at her and say

“Hello Little Bird. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

Darcy relaxed a little and answered “Hydra I think.”

Then she frowned and asked “You’re not Hydra, are you?”

Melinda’s face pinched and she answered firmly and a little sharply “No.”

Darcy nodded quietly and then looked between Clint and Melinda’s faces and said tiredly “I want my brother.”

Melinda’s face smoothed out again and she said “Well, I happen to know where he is. I can take you to him.”

She held out a hand to Darcy, who reached up to take it, slipping her other hand into Clint’s. Then the three of them set off down the corridor.


	10. Chapter 10

When the Avengers (minus Hawkeye and Mini-Hydra) walked up to Phil Coulson he was saying firmly to Jane Foster

“I assure you Doctor Foster, as soon as we have any news on Miss Lewis, you will be informed.”

“But…” Jane started to object.

“Now if you will excuse me.” Phil interrupted and turned his attention to the Avengers.

Steve started reporting what they’d seen and done. A few minutes later they were interrupted by several excited voices exclaiming

“So cute!”

They all looked behind Phil to where his baby scientists were cooing over Mini-Hydra. His hacker was standing a little farther away and saying

“Uh, Guys? She’s holding hands with May. Maybe you should back off?”

“What?” Phil murmured under his breath.

“That’s Mini-Hydra.” Tony said. “Sitwell was hiding her.”

Phil made a humming sound in the back of his throat before saying firmly “Fitzsimmons, enough.”

They backed away from the girl, looking sheepishly at Phil, but his attention was on the girl, who had looked over when he spoke. She didn’t move for a long moment, staring at him with wide eyes and a pinched face. Then she let go of the hands she was holding and flung herself at him. As soon as she got within arm’s distance, Phil scooped her up into his arms.

Her arms went around his neck and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He propped her on one hip, one arm holding her up under her butt, the other rubbing soothing circles on her back. He murmured a quiet litany of

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, you’re safe now, I’m here.”


	11. Chapter 11

Phil continued to quietly reassure Darcy for several minutes while most of the people nearby stared in surprise and confusion. Finally she lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffing and wiping at her eyes. He shifted his grip as she shifted and asked

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head and answered

“Jasper wouldn’t let them.”

Her lip trembled and he brought a hand up to cup her cheek. He looked at the grimy, tattered clothes that Hydra had provided when she shrank and said

“I think we need to find you some clean clothes.”

She nodded, and then said

“’M hungry.”

He nodded, frowned, and then said

“There are a few things I need to take care of. Can you go with Clint? I’ll come find you as soon as I can.”

She bit her lip and stared at him for a long moment before nodding silently. Clint came over and she leaned towards him, allowing herself to be transferred from one set of arms to another, but she didn’t let go of where she had one hand fisted in Phil’s jacket. Phil took her hand between his, leaned forward so that he was looking her in the eye  and said solemnly

“Only for a little while, Flutterbudget.”

She stared at him for a moment before nodding and whispering

“‘Kay.”

He quirked his lips in a small smile and kissed her forehead before letting go of her hand. Clint nodded once at Phil and then turned and started walking away, saying

“Alright, we’ve got some storage rooms around here somewhere with all kinds of clothes, there should be something that fits you. What do you think Little Bird? Clothes or food first?”

“Food.” She said quietly but firmly.

“Works for me!” Clint said brightly. “You know, I think we can probably get some fried chicken or maybe tacos…”

“Mac n Cheese.” Darcy interrupted.

“You have the best ideas Colibri! I could totally go for some Mac n Cheese…”

Clint’s voice trailed off as they left.


	12. Chapter 12

The group stares after Clint and the little girl for a long moment before Tony asks “So we know who Mini-Hydra is?”

Phil turns and with his blankest, blandest, most dangerous face and voice says “Don’t call her that.”

Then he turns towards Fitz, Simmons, and Skye, and said “Simmons I need you to look through our records for any previous mentions of de-aging.”

“De-aging? Sir, I don’t think we’ve ever encountered that.” Simmons stammered out, staring at him in surprise and confusion.

“Look anyway.” He commands before turning again, this time towards Natasha. “Widow do you have any information on this?”

“According to Sitwell, everything we need is on this.” She answers with a wry smile, holding up the usb.

“Look through it then. And forward anything you find to Simmons.” He commands.

“De-aging? Wait so this girl…” Steve sounds puzzled.

“Junior’s supposed to be in her twenties.” Melinda explains, looking vaguely amused. “She’s one of our best agents. And she hasn’t checked in for a while.”

The group nods in enlightenment and then Thor frowns and says “The young one was most desirous for her brother’s company. They should soon be reunited.”

There’s a moment of silence and then Melinda turns to Phil and says “So you’re taking the night off?”

He gives her a look.

She shrugs and responds “Junior was pretty clear who she wanted.”

“I intend to.” He said exasperatedly. “But that will only be possible if things get dealt with now.”

She nods and falls into step with him as they leave.

There is silent confusion that is broken by Tony bursting out with “Really? Junior? What kind of code name is that? It’s boring!”

Natasha snorts and says “She’s Junior because two Coulsons was confusing.”

“Agent’s the brother!” Tony yelped in shock.


	13. Chapter 13

That evening Phil stepped into a mostly empty cafeteria in time to hear Tony Stark finish saying “…just don’t buy it.”

“You’re an idiot.” Natasha replied.

The glances he received from the group of Avengers and Shield agents suggested the conversation had something to do with him. Knowing Stark it was also about Darcy.

He started making his way towards the occupied table when the chatter of a high-pitched voice and an answering lower rumble made him turn back. His eyes landed on Darcy and Clint, hand-in-hand. Darcy was cleaned up and in new clothes, she was smiling up at Clint and chattering away. Something in Phil’s chest relaxed to see her calm and happy.

Then Stark called out “Wow! All cleaned up Mini-Hydra almost looks like a real girl!”

Phil stiffened, but before he could turn he noticed Darcy’s sudden scowl. He shifted his trajectory as she dropped Clint’s hand and charged forward. As she started to pass him, he reached out and caught her with an arm around her middle. He scooped her up into the air and she let out an inarticulate screech of rage. He propped her on his hip and she screamed again and slammed a hand against his chest.

“Hey!” Phil said sharply. “We use our words, we don’t hit.”

“I’m not Hydra! I’m not! I’m not!” Darcy yelled.

“I know. I know.” Phil told her, bouncing her up and down to get her attention. Once she made eye contact he said “Everyone who matters knows, okay?”

She nodded, and then her face crumpled and she started sobbing. He pulled her head down to his shoulder and chest and ran a hand up and down her back. He made eye contact with Clint and they were able to communicate that while Clint had put her down for a nap, she’d had understandable trouble settling.

Another set of exchanged looks had Clint slipping towards the food to put together a to-go bag. Phil stood there, murmuring soothingly to Darcy until Clint handed him the bag.

After Phil and Darcy left, Clint, Natasha, and Melinda all turned towards Stark.

“If you ever call her that again.” Clint said flatly.

Natasha and Melinda both glared and Stark flinched.


	14. Chapter 14

Phil carried Darcy through the base, and by the time they reached his quarters she’d stopped crying.

Darcy looked around dubiously when he set her down. This was not home. And yet… there was a bookshelf full of old friends, and a big comfy couch with a familiar blanket thrown over the back, and several dirty coffee mugs on the counter, and it smelled just a little of coffee and wood polish and lavender, strangely, also oranges. It was alright, Darcy decided.

While she’d been looking around, Phil had prepared a large plate of food and set up a very strange computer on the coffee table in front of the couch. He sat down, smiled at her, and patted the couch next to him. Darcy climbed up on to the couch and sat down so that she was leaning on him and half in his lap. Phil ran a gentle hand across her head and then reached out and hit a button on the computer before grabbing the plate.

Darcy frowned as the screen started moving, but then she recognized the music and the ship. She wriggled a little closer to Phil as Captain Kirk started his log. Maybe things were okay- she had Phil, she had the Enterprise, Clint and Melinda weren’t Hydra. Darcy opened her mouth obediently as Phil held up a bite of dinner. Once they’d eaten their fill, Phil wrapped her up in the blanket.

Not long after that, Darcy fell asleep. At some point she felt Phil shift her and get up and she whined. “It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just getting ready for bed.” He said with a gentle chuckle. Darcy fell back to sleep and dreamed.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing.

“Hey.” Phil said.

“Hey.” Answered the newcomer.

Darcy didn’t recognize the voice, but she knew it. It meant safe and fun and comfortable. Phil murmured a question.

“Got him straightened out. He won’t make that mistake again.” The voice said.

There was a soft sound, like a kiss, and then Phil murmured something about bed.

“Was just gonna grab some pjs and crash with Nat.” The voice said.

“It’s fine if you-” Phil started to stay.

“Nah. She needs you. And she comes first, we agreed on that.” The voice interrupted.

“Clint.” Phil said, his voice warm and fond.

Oh, was that who it was? Maybe…

“S'one of the reasons I fell in love with you.” Maybe Clint said.

Darcy smiled, she liked this dream.

“Well, before you go, care to help me put a sleeping little girl into pajamas?” Phil asked.

Darcy scowled. She was not little! She was six and she’d tricked Hydra.

“Sure.” Maybe Clint said with a chuckle.

Then gentle arms were scooping her up and hands were tugging at her clothes. Darcy whined a couple of times, but soon enough she was in soft and warm pajamas. Then she was being set down on a bed.

There was another, longer sound, and then Maybe Clint murmured “Night, Babe.”

A gentle kiss was brushed across her forehead by someone who smelled of oranges and Maybe-Probably Clint said “Sweet dreams, Colibri.”

There was the sound of the door again and then Phil was getting on to the bed next to her and cuddling her close. Soon enough, the dream faded and Darcy sank into sleepy darkness, warm and safe.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning everyone gathered for breakfast. Darcy and Phil arrived hand in hand, which prompted some coos from the same people who had been cooing over her yesterday. Darcy looked around curiously at all the  people.

There was the group of people from yesterday who seemed to be working with Phil. Melinda, the sad, angry Melinda of the future, was sitting with them. Nearby was the other group of people she’d met yesterday, the ones from the  jet, including the guy who looked like Captain America. Darcy decided she still wasn’t ready to deal with that.

Among his group was the man who’d called her Mini-Hydra yesterday, just like the robot. He glanced over and Darcy met his eyes. When he realized they’d made eye contact, his eyes widened and he paled and looked away quickly. Darcy considered this and smiled, it could be useful.

Bridging the gap between the two groups were the red-headed lady and Clint, who was smiling and waving at them.

“Good morning, Clint!” Darcy said as she scrambled onto a seat.

“Morning, Colibri.” Clint answered around a mouthful of eggs.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Darcy scolded him.

“Even the six year old knows better than you.” The red-headed lady snorted, bumping shoulders with Clint.

As Clint started to retaliate Phil brushed a hand over her head.

“What do you want to eat, Flutterbudget?” He asked.

“Toast.” Darcy decided.

“And what do you want on it?” Phil asked, smiling at her with his eyes.

Darcy bit her lip and looked up at him hopefully.

“Peanutbutter and Pooh?” She asked.

Phil considered this as several mutters of ‘what did she ask for?’ spread through both groups.

“Alright, but only if you use extra napkins.” Phil said.

Darcy beamed and squirmed excitedly as Phil spread peanutbutter on toast and drizzled honey over the top. Then he took the napkins Clint was holding out and did his best to cover Darcy’s clothes. Once he’d done his best, he set the toast down in front of her. Darcy grabbed a slice of ooey-gooey delicious and took a bite.


	16. Chapter 16

As Darcy finished her breakfast, the grown-ups started talking about the coming day. Darcy didn’t pay much attention until Phil took a wet napkin and started wiping her face and hands.

“This does bring up the question of what you’re going to do today.” Phil said to her.

Darcy frowned at him.

“I wanna go with you.” She said.

Phil’s lips twitched.

“I think you’d be bored, Flutterbudget.” He said.

Darcy scowled at him.

“You always say that and it isn’t ever.” She said.

Phil looked at her thoughtfully.

“You’d have to be quiet and still when necessary.” He said.

Darcy just nodded, that was the usual rule. Phil nodded once, his eyes fond, and started to open his mouth.

“You have a conference with Talbot today.” Melinda said.

Phil winced and looked resigned.

“No! I’ll be good! Please?” Darcy argued.

Phil sighed and pulled her onto his lap.

“I’m sorry Flutterbudget, but I don’t want him knowing anything about you right now.” He said.

“But…” She said.

“No. He’s not a nice man and I don’t want him trying anything.” Phil said.

Darcy pouted but leaned her head against his chest.

“You know… I don’t have anything planned besides hitting the range at some point…” Clint said.

Darcy turned to look at him consideringly.

“Yeah, okay.” She sighed.

“We’ll go exploring Colibri, I haven’t had nearly enough time checking out this base.” Clint said with grin.

Darcy perked up a bit in interest. Phil sighed.

“If you get my sister lost in the vents…” He threatened.

Darcy giggled.

“Okay. Can we play hide and spook?” She asked.

Clint’s grin widened and he turned questioning eyes to Phil. Phil groaned softly.

“Only with people who know the game.” He said.

Clint did a fist pump.

“Ready to go, Colibri?” He asked.

“Yeah!” Darcy said, scrambling off of Phil’s lap and down to the ground.

Then she turned back to Phil, biting her lip. He slipped off the bench to kneel in front of her and run a hand across her head.

“I’ll see you at lunch, okay?” He asked.

“‘Kay.” She answered smiling at him.

Then she ran over to Clint and took the hand he offered.


	17. Chapter 17

Once they were out of the cafeteria Clint looked down at Darcy.

“So what do you say to starting with the vents, and once we find a good hidey hole we can start plotting our spooks?” He asked.

Darcy beamed and nodded excitedly. Clint grinned back and popped off the nearest vent cover. He boosted Darcy up and climbed in behind her. They slithered around the vents for a while giggling to each other before settling in a three way junction.

“So who do you want to spook first?” Clint asked once they’d curled up together.

“Uhh, c'we get the mean man? And the robot?” Darcy asked.

“The mean man?” Clint asked.

“With the stupid beard who called me-” Darcy clarified.

“Ah, you mean Tony.” Clint said. “And what robot?”

Darcy frowned at him.

“The one from yesterday? It’s red and yellow?” She told him.

“Uh, yeah, that was Tony too.” Clint said.

“I wanna get him.” Darcy said.

“Yeah, I get that.” Clint said. “But your brother said we could only spook people who know how to play and Tony doesn’t.”

Darcy scowled and then brightened.

“We could tell him the rules.” She said, looking at Clint eagerly.

Clint frowned, considering, then burst out laughing.

“I’ve got one better.” He said.

“What? What?” Darcy asked.

“We write the rules down, and leave them on his desk for him to find.” Clint said.

“And then we get him!” Darcy said.

“And then we don’t get him.” Clint said.

“What?” Darcy asked.

“Think about it.” Clint said. “He heard Phil, he knows we’re only going after people who know how to play. He reads the rules and realizes that now includes him. And he knows you don’t like him. And all he can do is wait.”

“He’s gonna get twitchier all day!” Darcy said as understanding dawned on her face.

“Exactly.” Clint told her.

“I love it!” Darcy said, smiling hugely.

“We’ll go get some paper in a little bit and set that up. Who else do you want to get?” Clint asked.

“Can we get Mel?” Darcy asked.

Clint frowned.

“Um, we should probably stick to shadow pokes for her.” He said. “But we can get Natasha!”


	18. Chapter 18

Tony watched warily as Barton led the kid into the cafeteria for lunch. He’d gotten their message, he knew they were after him. How they’d gotten the list of rules for super-spy hide and seek with jump scares onto his desk he didn’t know. But now he knew the rules, which made him fair game according to Coulson.

So he watched as Barton helped the girl, Junior, fill her plate and cup and get settled. Then she bounced back up as Coulson came into the room with his scary bad ass Mulan. She ran across the room with a screech of “Phil!” and Coulson did the thing again.

The thing where he dropped down to her level and his face went all wide and soft with emotion- very unlike his usual facade of spybot. Not that Tony hadn’t seen Coulson with feelings before- that reunion with Barton had been all kinds of awkward feelings. But with this Junior kid there was an openness, a lack of holding back, that was startling.

Coulson hugged her close before leading her back towards the table.

“What have you and Clint gotten up to this morning, Flutterbudget?” he asked her.

Her whole face lit up and she started babbling eagerly.

“We played Hide and Spook! And we got Miss Tasha twice! She got Clint back once but he pulled a knife on her so she gets less points! And I stoled three of Mel’s pens! But she got me with some stickers, so we’re mostly even.”

Tony hid his shudder as he listened to her babble. Jump scaring the Widow? Were they insane? And stealing from scary Mulan? He was doomed, there was no telling what they would do to him, but he’d be lucky to come out only bruised.

Tony did his best to ignore them after that, focusing on the discussion Bruce was having with the girl half of the science twins while listening with half an ear to the debate that Foster and the boy twin were having about some piece of equipment.

His attention was caught again when Coulson brushed a kiss across the munchkin’s head and told her “I have to go back to work, but I should be done before dinner, okay?”

“Okay!” the kid said with a grin.

Barton smiled dopily at the pair and added “We’re gonna check out the labs this afternoon and see if we can find any good explosions.”

“Boom!” the girl agreed.

“And we’re gonna see if we have any better luck at finding coloring supplies before we hit the range for some quiet time.”

“Sounds fun, don’t set anything on fire.” Coulson answered with a final smile before turning and making his way out of the room.

Everyone fell silent as they watched him leave.

Then the kid turned a beaming grin on Barton and crowed “I told you I could get him!”

Barton started laughing hard enough he could only nod.

May sighed and stood.

“I’d better catch him and let him know he’s covered in stickers before he goes into his next meeting.”


	19. Chapter 19

Clint smiled down at Darcy as they entered the science labs in the next step of ‘Freak Tony Stark Out for being a Butt’. She was babbling excitedly about her hopes of explosions, so he started leading her towards Foster, whose equipment could be persuaded to do interesting and exciting things.

Before they’d taken more than two steps, Simmons was swooping forward and reaching for Darcy.

“You have excellent timing! We’ve just finished going through the notes we were provided and we just need a few samples.” She said, pulling Darcy away from Clint.

The little girl went stiff and pale.

“Wait-” Clint started.

“We were able to get a lot from the data Hydra had gathered, but we need to check a few things and do some follow up.” Bruce said, smiling down at Darcy.

Her eyes went dark and her breath went shallow.

“Hang on-” Clint said.

“It’s really quite fascinating, what they were trying to do, there’s a lot to learn from it.” Simmons said.

The only word Clint could think of to describe the sound that came out of Darcy’s mouth was a keen. Clint shoved the overeager scientists away and dropped to one knee in front of her, pulling her close as she started to cry.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is description and dealing with a panic attack in this chapter

Tony was in the private lab he’d claimed as his own, trying to ignore the fact that Hawkeye and his Hawkling had just entered the labs and were no doubt intending his demise, when he heard the sound. That was not a sound meant to come out of a human. He shoved himself up and headed to the main labs looking for the sound.

Hawkeye was kneeling and glaring in the middle of the lab with his arms around the kid… who was definitely the source of the sound. Bruce and the Girl-Twin were standing nearby looking startled and holding sample equipment.

“…Really? They haven’t even been here two minutes and you’ve already given the kid a panic attack?” Tony asked in disbelief. “We know there were traumatizing Hydra experiments and you thought what- let’s traumatize her some more?”

Bruce’s and Science-Girl’s faces dropped into combinations of guilt and sheepishness and Tony waved a hand dismissively before crouching down near Barton and the munchkin. She was still making that sound, her breath was shallow, fast, and irregular, her eyes were wide and staring, and her fists were clenched in Barton’s shirt.

“So this is a panic attack.” Tony said quetly.

Barton looked at him with a helpless expression.

“I’m thinking it’s situationally triggered, so why don’t we move somewhere a little less bio-lab and a little more mechanic’s dreamland.” Tony suggested.

Barton nodded and started to change his rip on the munchkin when Tony held up a hand.

“Hey, your uh, Barton’s gonna pick you up so we can go somewhere quieter, okay?” He said awkwardly to the kid.

She managed to nod and Barton picked her up and followed Tony.

“Jarvis put a hold on everything we have going in this lab.” He murmured as he lead the way to his lab.

They took a couple minutes to get settled, the kid in Barton’s lap and Tony on a nearby bench. Then Tony took a deep breath and started talking.

“So, like I said, this is a panic attack, which is basically your brain chemistry going crazy and bringing your body along for the ride… not that that helps you any.”

The girl was staring at him with wide eyes, tears slipping down her face, and he felt a twinge of guilt, able to see the similarities between now and last night.

“But there are some things we can do, so why don’t you try closing your eyes and we’ll see if we can get your breath working a little better.”

She stared at him for another long moment before squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her face into Barton’s chest.

“Okay, so I’m gonna count how long you should inhale and exhale, and all you have to do is breathe with my count. And I’m gonna have you breathing out longer than you breathe in because for some crazy reason that helps your body detox the crazy making chemicals. Alright and in-2-3-4-, out-2-3-4-5-6-7-8.”

Her breath started out hitching and gasping but slowly started leveling out. Still counting, Tony caught Barton’s eye and mimed moving his hand up and down. Barton frowned at him before understanding lit his eyes and he started rubbing gently up and down the munchkin’s back.

“Good, you’re doing great. Next we’re gonna see if we can relax you a little, because tension begets tension. So keep breathing but see if you can let go a little.”

Tony went back to counting and watched as slowly the wrinkle between her brows smoothed and the line of her shoulders eased.

“That’s great kiddo. Now I want you to think about what you can feel. You’ve got a nice grip on Hawk’s shirt, can you think about what that feels like?”

She nuzzled further into Barton’s shirt and pressed back into his hold. Her grip on his shirt loosened from a clenched fist into rubbing his shirt between her fingers.

“Alright, now that we’ve got touch, let’s bring sight back. Try opening your eyes and having a look.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she started studying the things in her field of view. After a couple of minutes she settled her gaze on Tony.

“Okay, you look ready for more. How about hearing. I mean obviously you can hear me because I talk a lot, but what else can you hear?”

The munchkin cocked her head and then settled her head more firmly against Barton’s chest.

“Uhh…” Tony said uncertainly.

Barton chuckled softly.

“Listening to my heartbeat, Colibri?” He asked.

She nodded.

Not long after that she tilted her head up and said with a pout “Tired.”

Barton nodded and gently smoothed her hair out of her face.

“I bet. Think it’s time to go to the range? You can sit quiet while I shoot.” He suggested.

She nodded and he stood up, keeping her in his arms.

“Wait a sec.” Tony said before they could leave.

Barton turned questioning eyes on him as he grabbed the nearest tablet. A couple of taps and he was shoving it at the munchkin.

“You, ah, mentioned at lunch you were looking for coloring supplies, but I doubt you’ve had any luck, so here, coloring app.”

They both stared at him in surprise, and then Barton smiled.

“Thanks, Stark.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Tony said dismissively, turning to look at his nearest project.


	21. Chapter 21

Phil stepped into the shooting range, which was empty except for the farthest booth, from which came the soft thwock of arrows. He smiled as he caught sight of Clint, whose stance shifted just enough to show that the other man was aware of his arrival.

He dropped his gaze looking for Darcy, and frowned. Instead of being curled up on top of a blanket nest, she had bundled herself up in one until she was hardly visible.

He stepped towards them, taking care to make his steps audible, and soon enough her head poked out. Clint stopped shooting and turned to him, but Phil’s attention was on Darcy’s tearstained face and pleading eyes.

“Hey you,” he murmured as he knelt down next to her. “C'mere.”

He pulled her into his lap, blanket and all, and she came with a little sigh, one hand fisting in his shirt. The other was occupied, thumb in mouth. He suppressed another frown, she hadn’t sucked her thumb since she was three.

“Hard afternoon?” he asked as Clint crouched down next to them.

“Well, we found out that labs are kinda scary and that scientists are terrifying,” Clint said, his light tone at odds with the tightness of his eyes.

“Oh?” Phil asked.

“Banner and uh… Simmons? The girl. Were a little enthusiastic,” Clint said. “And panic attacks are definitely no fun.”

Phil looked down at Darcy, who had burrowed into his chest, and ran a carefully steady hand across his sister’s head.

“In that case we should definitely have another quiet dinner in,” Phil said.

“Yeah,” Clint agreed. “I figured you could take her and I could swing by later to drop off dinner for you two.”

Darcy’s eyes opened and she made a protesting sound around her thumb, scowling up at Phil in a demand that he fix things.


End file.
